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Jack Hale, 60, occasionally grew impatient as prosecutor Rebecca Griffin assailed his earlier testimony that he didn't intend to kill his estranged wife, Yvonne Leroux, when he shot her in the head in 2008.

The retired GM worker, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, was argumentative on the stand, throwing questions back at the Crown and getting frustrated. Mr. Hale leaned forward into the court microphone, raising his voice and saying "I don't know," loudly as Ms. Griffin pressed ahead with her cross-examination.

It is the Crown's theory that Mr. Hale, angry over family court rulings that ordered him to pay his estranged wife a lump sum settlement of $58,000 and monthly support payments, planned to kill Ms. Leroux when he showed up at her trailer near Lindsay on the morning of Sept. 18, 2008, armed with a loaded shotgun.

When Mr. Hale took the stand in his own defence Monday, he testified he intended to "shoot up" the trailer to inconvenience Ms. Leroux. He said he was surprised to find people at the trailer and was "negotiating" with Ms. Leroux when he was startled by the sudden appearance of a pit bull and accidentally pulled the trigger.

On Tuesday, Ms Griffin continued to assail Mr. Hale's version of events by delving into a variety of aspects of his life and marriage to Ms. Leroux, including their acrimonious court proceedings.

Mr. Hale responded by repeatedly asserting that Ms. Leroux did not pay any bills during the marriage and therefore was not entitled to half of the matrimonial home. He insisted the value of the home was grossly inflated in court documents and that the family court system in Canada is unfair.

Mr. Hale said the court ruled against him after he failed to show up to defend himself.

Mr. Hale said several times that he was very angry at his estranged wife the night before the killing, but would not immediately admit that it was a letter he received from Ms. Leroux's lawyer that day that had upset him. He said he sat through the night, stewing and taking pain killers, before arriving at his plan to drive to the couple's trailer when he thought no one would be there to shoot holes in the roof, effectively ruining it for Ms. Leroux.

When Ms. Griffin asked why he'd use a gun rather than something less obtrusive, like a sledge hammer, Mr. Hale replied, "that's the way I chose to do it".

He also clashed with the prosecutor over the number of shells he loaded into the shotgun, choosing six instead of the maximum eight.